Satelliet-Browns help transform Kirklands Hotel     Transforming the bar and lounge area of the Kirklands Hotel in the heart of Kinross in Perthshire was a real leap of faith for owners Shona Jack and Anthony Clifford.   But with the help of Satelliet-Browns, the leading pub and club furnishing specialists, the couple changed what was a dark, dingy and traditional ‘old man’s pub’ into a really bright and rather funky bar and lounge.   Now Shona and Anthony are so pleased with the changes that they have commissioned Satelliet-Browns to extend the new look into the restaurant area, a decision which has delighted, the company’s joint managing directors, Kevin and Harvey Ockrim.   Kevin Ockrim said: “Our Sales Manager Joseph Doyle and his team found it a real pleasure to work with Shona, Anthony and their freelance designer Catherine Markie.   “Their decision to stay with the same furnishings and look for the restaurant area is a real vote of confidence in our ability to meet our customers’ expectations.   “Our original company, Browns Furniture Co took over Satelliet UK’s operations 14 months ago, and we are now ideally placed to tackle prestige properties like the Kirklands Hotel.   “One of the most tangible benefits we can offer customers like Shona and Anthony is our huge range of tables chairs, bar stools and other furnishings from around the world.   “And we have the experience and expertise to ensure that the furnishings meet the design criteria, and are delivered and fitted to schedule.”   Satelliet-Browns Sales Manager Joseph Doyle said: “We are very comfortable working directly with individual clients or along with their designer as we did at the Kirklands Hotel.   “Shona and Anthony have done a fantastic job with the Kirklands, which is virtually unrecognisable with its new furnishings.   “They have gone for some really bright combinations of red, white, and dark brown faux leather tub chairs, and sofas, which work incredibly well.   “In the lounge area they have coffee tables, and the bar area, higher tables which are ideal for serving bar meals. The bar stools themselves have a white fabric finish which makes them really distinctive.”   Shona Jack and her partner Anthony Clifford took over the Kirklands Hotel, an 18th century coaching house, last summer.   Shona said: “It was a real leap of faith for us to embark on such a radical make-over of the Kirklands but we are absolutely delighted with the outcome.   “We closed for five weeks in November and took the bar and lounge areas right back to the stonework.   “We had a few sleepless nights worrying that it would be finished for the start of December and the build up to Christmas, but everything fell into place with Satelliet-Browns and our other contractors keeping right on schedule.   “We are really pleased with our new look, so much so that we have gone back to Satelliet-Browns to order more of the same for the restaurant. That was leased out when we took over, but is now coming back under our control.   Shona added: “We can’t believe the number of customers who have remarked on how much they like they new look, and how it is just what Kinross has needed.   “And we have noticed a distinct change in our customer base which has gone from either very young or very old, to a more affluent 25-50 age group, who are much more likely to drop in for a meal, a bottle of wine, and order premium brands at the bar.   “The new bar and lounge area is the first thing you see when you walk in, and the colours of the chairs match perfectly, with the red chairs picking up the colour from our blinds, and our feature wall.   “It is the furniture that really makes the room because it is mainly what you see when you come in, and we couldn’t be more pleased.”   End             Issued on behalf of Satelliet-Browns by John Scott of John Scott Communications   Phone: 01505 850 458 Mobile: 07917 729 201 Email: johnd.scott@virgin.net